Congolese await election results with dread and anger

Hotels were emptying out, airlines canceled their flights and people were rushing to stock their pantries ahead of the announcement of results Tuesday from a contested presidential election which could plunge Congo back into conflict.

Many fear a return to violence in the showdown between the country's 40-year-old president, who controls the army, and Congo's 78-year-old opposition leader, who controls the street. Continue reading...

While in Johannesburg and Brussels, local members of the Congolese community were already taking to the streets, protesting what they see as a fraudulent election.

Ihsaan Haffejee / EPA

South African Police Forces in Johannesburg clash with immigrants from The Democratic Republic of Congo after they demonstrated against the South African government's collusion with the current government in the Congo and what they deemed to be a fraudulent election taking place in their homeland.

Jerome Delay / AP

Congolese riot police stands in front of the parliament building in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday Dec. 5, 2011. A sense of dread permeated the capital, as citizens awaited the proclamation of results expected Tuesday in the contested presidential ballot, a vote that was supposed to mark another step toward peace but which instead could be a flashpoint for more violence.

Francois Lenoir / Reuters

A woman shouts slogans during a demonstration in support of Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi in Brussels Dec. 5, 2011. The Congolese community in Belgium, in solidarity with opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are rejecting partial results in a November 28 election that showed a lead for President Joseph Kabila.

Francois Lenoir / Reuters

People carry an injured woman during a demonstration in support of Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi in Brussels Dec. 5, 2011.

Jerome Delay / AP

Congolese riot police stands in front of the parliament building in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday Dec. 5, 2011.